Hydrant and street-washer



2 Sheets-$heet 1.

(No Modl.)

R. E 1% Hm G mm m M UD N A m M ED Y H Patented Bee. 8. 1885.

WITNESSES .11 ttorney N. Pnzns PholoLithognphar, Walhlnghm. n. c

{No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 2. B. P. COURTRIGHT.

HYDRANT AND STREET WASHER.

No. 332,137. Patented Dec. .8, '1885.

WITNESSES M4 Attorney N. PETERS. Fholo-llthognpher. Wahlvlglon, EC.

UNITED STATES PATENT Grinch.

BENJAMlN F. COURTRIGHT, OF EAST SAGIN AW, MICHIGAN.

HYDRANT AND STREET-WASH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part; of Letters Patent No. 332,137, dated December 8, 1885.

Application filed May 1, 1885. Serial No. 164,094. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, B. F. COURTRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydrants and Street-Washers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of hydrants and street-washers which are provided 7 with a waste-vent or relief-port adapted to permit the escape of the water remaining in the dischar e-pipe after the entry-port or inlet-valve of the pipe has been closed, the valve controlling the said waste-vent being connected to themain valve-rod in such a manner that the latter will close the waste-vent when opening the entry-port and open the waste-vent when closing the said port.

The object of my invention is to produce a combined hydrant and street-washer of the above-described class,which shall be inexpensive to manufacture and simple and efficient in operation; and to that end it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts,which will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved combined hydrant and street-washer, taken on the plane indicated byline 00 a; in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the lower part of the hydrant. Fig. 3 is a side view of the same. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line y y, Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the upper part of the device, showing the nozzle or spout reversed to adapt the hydrant for use as a streetwasher.

The same letters indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Referring to the several parts by letter, A represents the barrel or cylinder of the hydrant, preferably of one-inch iron pipe, and having screwed upon its upper end the top B, of which the spout or nozzle B forms a part, being cast integral therewith, the free end of the spout B being provided with an exterior screw-thread to admit of a hose being connected thereto. 0 indicates the upper operating end of the valve-rod, being provided with the annular shoulder or projection c, which rests and turns upon a corresponding shoulder, 12, in the upper end of the top B, so as to hold the shaft Gin position. A gasket, 0, surrounds the shaft 0 and rests upon the annular projcction 0, thereby preventing any leakage of water through the top of the hydrant, a screwcap, B", closing the upper end of the hydrant and serving to hold the washer and the shaft itself in position. The upper end of this screw-cap is made square, in order that it may be readily removed when it is necessary to replace the washer with a new one. The upper projecting end of the shaft 0 is also squared, to adapt it to receive a suitable hand-wheel, by means of which the shaft 0, and through it the valverod D, are operated. The lower hollow end of the shaft 0 is provided with an interior lefthanded screw-thread, b so that when the shaft 0 is turned to the right by its hand-wheel the valve-rod D will be lowered, for the purpose hereinafter set forth.

D represents the valve-rod, which is provided at its upper end with an exterior left handed screw-thread to admit it to work within the lower hollow threaded end of the operating-shaft O. Y

Findicates the casting composing the lower part of the hydrant, the said casting being provided at its upper end with an interior screw-thread to adapt it to be secured upon the lower end of the barrel or cylinder of the hydrant, a screw, a, tapped through the screwthreaded ends, serving to prevent the barrel A from screwing out of the part F. To the lower end of the part F is screwed a hemispherical casting, F, provided at its bottom with the exterior screw-threaded inlet pipe or neck, f, and prevented from unscrewing from the part F by a small screw, f which is tapped through the screw-threaded flanges, as shown in Fig. 2.

Vithin the spherical valve-chamber G works the spherical flexible valve H, which consists of a solid rubber ball having a central opening, through which the lower screw-threaded end of the valve-rod passes, the ball being firmly secured by means of small rivets or screwsi to a concave receptacle or basin I, within which its lower part rests, the said basin being cast with a nut, J, on its lower exterior side, and both the nut and basin be-. ing provided with an aperture which registers with the central aperture, h, of the ball-valve when the said valve is secured upon the basin I by means of the small screws '5, passing through suitable apertures in the said basin, by which arrangement the ball is held firmly against the pressure of the water when the Valve-rod is lowered, and the valve thus removed from its seat It to admit the water, which enters through f from the street-main, to pass up and out of the hydrant. The annular convex valve-seat h is semi-spherical in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 1, the rubber ball-valve pressing closely around the same when the valve is closed, while, when the valve is open, the valve-seat is left perfectly clear, this arrangement preventing any sand, gravel, or other sediment from lodging on the valveseat to prevent its working. When the upper side of the ball-valve,which fits upon the valveseat, becomes worn through long use, the valve may be raised a little by merely turning the nut J to the right, while, when the ball be comes completely worn out, it can be replaced at a cost of a few cents.

Secured at one end to the rod D at a point a little above the valve-chamber G, is a transverse rod, K, working in a suitable opening or recess in the casting F, and having secured to its outer end the lower screw-threaded end of a vertical auxiliary valve-rod, L, the upper end of which passes up through a vertical aperture, f, in the casting F, constituting the waste-vent or relief-port, and has secured upon its screw'threaded extremity adjustably the auxiliary rubber ball-valve N, which is exactly similar in construction to the main valve H, having the basin N and nut n and rivets or screws n, the rod L being of such a length that when the valve-rod D is lowered to open the entry-port the auxiliary valve Nwill bear firmly upon its seat 0, which is of the same shape as the seat of the main valve, and is therefore always clear of sediment and in working order. The auxiliary valve-rod L, which Works through the vertical aperture f in the casting F, constituting the waste-vent, is provided with the three external longituditudinal grooves, Z, (shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings,) so that when the said rod is elevated by the raising of the main valve-rod D,

so as to lift the auxiliary valve N up from its seat, the water remaining in the barrel of the hydrant above the valve H, which is closed by this movement, will by its own gravity pass through the longitudinal grooves Zout of the opening a cap, M, having the ports or vents m, through which the waste water escapes, being secured, by means of the screws f to the casting F upon the rear upper side thereof, and extends above and around the auxiliary valve N, so as to protectitfrom injury. The three corners or strips left between the three longitudinal grooves of the auxiliary-valverod serve to prevent the rod from shaking or moving from side to side in the aperture f through which it passes.

P P, Fig. 3, indicate screw-plugs, which close suitable openings in the casting F, opening, respectively, immediately above the valve-chamber G, to enable the arm K to be secured upon the valve-rod ,D, and into the recess in which the arm K works, to enable.

the lower end of the valve-rod Lto be screwed into the outer end of said arm.

In Fig. 5 the outlet nozzle 13 is shown reversed or turned upward to adapt the hydrant for use as a street-washer, a metal plate, Q, being in this case placed upon the top of the device,being provided with suitable apertures,through which the upturned end of the nozzle and the top of the shaft 0 project.

The operation of my improved combined hydrant and street-washer is as follows: The hydrant is connected with the service-pipe or street-main by the exterior screw-threaded neck, f, and to permit the water to flow up through the hydrant and out of the spout B the hand-wheel on the upper end of the shaft 0 is turned to the right, thereby lowering the valve-rod D and removing the valve H from its seat, this movement, also, through the arm K and auxiliary valve-rod L, closing the Waste-vent by depressing the valve N upon its seat 0. The water now flows, though the valve-chamber G, up through the barrel of the hydrant and out at the spout B, the closed auxiliary valve N preventing the escape of any water through the waste-vent. To stop the flow of water, the hand-wheel is turned to the left, thereby raising the valve-rod D and pressing the main valve H firmly upon its seat, which cuts off the flow of water from the service-pipe or main, this upward movement of the valve-rod also operating to raise the arm K, auxiliary valve-rod L, and valve N, thereby permitting, the escape of the Water remaining in the hydrant-barrel above the inlet-valve H through the waste-ventffl The device may, if desired, be inclosed in a casing having a cover, so as to prevent vany dirt surrounding the device from entering the waste-vents.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation ofmyimproved combined hydrant and street-washer will be readily understood without requiring further explanation. i

It will be seen that my invention is simple in construction, and is therefore not liable to get out of order, while at the same time itis very efficient in operation and inexpensive to manufacture. It will also be seen that there is no leather packing employed, which is liable to dry up and get hard, thereby preventing the hydrant from working smoothly.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim, and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is

1. In a hydrant and street washer having a suitable upper part, the combination, with a tube-shaped lower part having a perforation through its side, and an inner recessed longitudinal projection at one side above the valvechamber, said projection also being provided with a perforation through its side, and an opening at the upper end of said recess, means for closing the perforations in the sides of the tubular lower part and the side of the recess, a horizontal arm extending from the valve rod into said recess, an upwardly-extending rod secured to said arm, the upper end of which rod is screw-threaded, and provided with a suitable waste-valve, and passes through said opening in the upper part of said recess, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

BENJAMIN F. OOURTRIGH'I.

Witnesses:

KIRBY BLAKELY, W. J. HERRE. 

